Bandits are currently on edge while residents watch in apprehension in parts of Dansadau Emirate, Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State as a result of the emergence of an armed group that have been confronting them.
Last week Friday, these unidentified armed group were spotted on motorbikes at Dandalla, a community located 15 kilometres South of Dansadau town.
The appearance of the armed bandits is interesting as the Dandalla community lies South of a forest straddling Birnin Gwari axis of neighbouring Kaduna State, which is a major sanctuary of the bandits.
Sources said that members of the armed group, who wore long beards, performed their Jumat prayer separately from the bandits. After that, they began preaching to the bandits to stop attacking communities.
The new armed group said that instead of the bandits to attack peasant farmers and stopping them from working on their farmlands, they should hold their guns against government officials.
The Wazirin Dansadau, Alhaji Mustapha Umar, confirmed their presence in the area, telling the Abuja-based Daily Trust that a resident of the community confirmed the development to him.
“It is true the armed men came to the community. There is a fear in the minds of the residents that they might be motivated by the Boko Haram ideology.”
Allah Mustapha, who was once kidnapped by the gunmen but released after ransom was paid, said one of the group members was shot by a bandit after he preached to them.
“The killing of the member of the group sparked a deadly fight between them, with many of the bandits killed. Even the bandits themselves are frightened by the activities of this armed group in the forest and this is what I learnt from their conversation when I was under their captivity,” he said.
Communities, especially in the South, East and West of Dansadau town have been held under siege by criminals for many years.
The bandits are asserting their control on the residents and are the ones adjudicating between people whenever there is any dispute.
This story first appeared in Daily Trust